Capsaicin inhibits the migration and invasion via the AMPK/NF-κB signaling pathway in esophagus sequamous cell carcinoma by decreasing matrix metalloproteinase-9 expression

Antitumor activity of Capsaicin has been studied in various tumor types, but its potency in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) remains to be elucidated. Here, we explored the molecular mechanism of the capsaicin induced antitumor effects on ESCC Eca109 cells. Eca109 cells were treated with capsaicin in vitro, the migration and invasion capacities was significantly decreased by scratch assay and transwell invasion assay. Meanwhile, matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) expression levels also obviously down-regulated by western blot. However, phosphorylated AMPK levels were significantly up-regulated, and this effect was eliminated by the AMPK inhibitor Compound C treatment. In addition, capsaicin can enhance SIRT1 expression, which could activate NF-kB through deacetylation, and activate AMPK induced the phosphorylation of IkB alpha and nuclear localization of NF-kB p65. Overall, these results revealed that Capsaicin can inhibit the migration and invasion of ESCC cells via the AMPK/NF-kB signaling pathway.